A Successful Courtship
by sllebswap
Summary: BelHaru TYL ficlet. Whoever said love cannot be forced had obviously never met a certain Prince B. before.


**Title:** A Successful Courtship

**Author: **sllebswap

**Beta'd by:** MelissaRose85

**Characters/Pairing: **Miura Haru and Belphegor

**Type:** One-Shot (Complete)

**Genre:** Romance/Humor

**Word Count:** 8750

**Rating: **M (Contains content suitable for mature teens and older)

**Disclaimer:** Kateikyoushi Hitman Reborn belongs to Akira-san.

**Summary: **TYL ficlet. Whoever said love cannot be forced had obviously never met a certain Prince B. before.

**Chapter Last Revised on:** 13/01/13

* * *

**A Successful Courtship**

* * *

"I'm curious; little commoner, why did they choose you to attend this event, hmm?"

Haru stiffened slightly with alarm at the silky, dulcet drawl that sounded as if it had been spoken right beside her ear. The startled brunette fought the urge to jump in reaction, the fine, delicate hairs at her nape as well as on the back of her bare shoulders standing straight up at the unexpected proximity of an unknown individual behind her.

It took her a little less than a couple of seconds to register the identity of the one who had startled her so, and Haru was only barely able to prevent herself from lashing out instinctively at the exasperating male who had been antagonizing her on and off for the past few days, very much like a bored feline who was idly toying with a cornered, defenseless mouse just because it had nothing better to do. Instead, the young woman merely recomposed herself and briefly glanced at the people milling around them, checking to see if anyone had caught their awkward interaction.

"Don't worry," the blonde irritant beside her commented casually. "These living fossils have difficulties seeing past their own noses as it is, let alone bothering to notice what is actually going on around them."

Haru suppressed a sigh and decided to deal with the inevitable. The man wasn't going to go away until he was good and ready to do so, and ignoring him wasn't going to work either as he seemed to lack any sense of social awareness whatsoever and would just continue to pester her until he got her attention—willingly or not.

Seated unobtrusively at the back of the large room where a private auction was currently underway, Haru carefully folded the brochure that she had been perusing before reluctantly turning her attention to the lean, rangy male seated beside her. The brunette paused briefly in surprise when she noticed that her 'partner' for the event had cleaned up for the strictly formal, black-tie affair, for once not dressed in his Varia uniform, but attired smartly in an expensive looking black suit with clean, precise lines and impeccable cutting. He also appeared rather at ease in these clothes that she would not have guessed he was accustomed to wearing, lounging casually on the antique Victorian chair beside hers like the well-bred aristocrat he truly was.

It was no wonder that he had been chosen to be her accompaniment; he clearly knew his way around this sort of social event even though his behavior seldom reflected upon his refined upbringing—like now. Haru also absently acknowledged the fact that her companion's golden good looks seemed to be further accentuated by his tasteful attire but chose not to think too much of it—undoubtedly, he wore his clothes well, but then again, so did most of the members of their Famiglia.

"Belphegor-san," Haru gave the assassin a small frown. "I know that you are not happy with your current position as my temporary bodyguard, but kindly refrain from venting your displeasure on me. I have already apologized for the inconvenience from the start and besides, you will be free of your obligations to me in another week's time-"

Belphegor chuckled, interrupting the brunette's righteous spiel. "Well, that might have been true at first, but I have already decided to let it go."

Haru looked surprised. "You…have?" she sounded warily bewildered. The furrow between her brows deepened slightly. "Then why did you just startle me like that?"

The elegant blonde shrugged, eyeing her with feline amusement. "It is entertaining to see you jump, little commoner," he rejoined silkily, much to her stare of disbelief. Despite her best efforts to control her temper, a flash of irritation appeared in her brown eyes and then she was scowling at him in a truly unamused manner. Her outrage was further compounded when he had the gall to sit there and smirk at her.

"Hmm," the sleek assassin purred with a small smile. "That's a nice expression. You are actually a fiery little thing despite that deceptively plain appearance, aren't you?" Then, he paused, and deliberately took his time perusing her, taking in the way her simple, off shoulder little black dress drew attention to her lithe figure and her slender legs. His smile widened slightly in appreciation. "Not so plain tonight, though."

Haru froze briefly at the inappropriately intimate remark, and then she turned bright red in the face just as quickly. The flustered brunette was more piqued than embarrassed though, and before long, she was glowering at the shameless man once more. "Don't do that!" she berated irritably.

He quirked an eyebrow at her. "Do what?"

His innocuous statement only made her more disgruntled. Glancing around them once more to ascertain that they weren't being a nuisance to the other auction attendees, Haru narrowed her eyes at her unruly companion. "I won't be manipulated," she told him with a fierce little scowl. "Don't think that you can use my gender to harass me into submission; I won't stand for that!"

Her sharp rebuke, albeit delivered in a discreet hiss to keep from disturbing others (Belphegor found it quite interesting that she could still remember to be considerate to others when she was irritated), made him look at her sardonically.

She was not impressed, frowning at him with obvious pique. It seemed that she was really fired up about the issue and was most determined to set him straight whether he cared about it or not—which he didn't, of course.

Though, he had to admit, her reactions were pretty amusing.

"Are you listening to me?" she demanded then, drawing his attention back to her. Haru was only starting to warm up to the subject. "It's wrong to objectify women, and just because we are supposed to be the fairer sex does not make it okay for you men to discriminate against us for our gender! We are more than just a pretty face and a nice figure, you know!"

Belphegor's eyebrow just climbed higher and higher throughout the entirety of her heated spiel, and when she was done, he merely commented in a suspiciously mild, all too casual manner, his gaze leveled on hers the entire while. "If I truly wanted to discriminate against you, I wouldn't need to insult your gender to do so. I already have plenty of material to work with, beginning with your woeful ineptitude in general as well as your appalling lack of combat skills, amongst other things."

His lazy drawl was as usual, tinted with an irritating mix of cocky arrogance and taunting amusement, and not surprisingly, Haru started to flush with outrage.

He was not done yet, though. Blithely, as if he had not noticed the increasingly peeved features on the young woman, he continued, at the same time giving her a slow, deliberate once over that quickly made her feel strangely exposed. "So…passable looks, near nonexistent bosom—nice ass and legs, but unfortunately packaged with the personality of a stubborn shrew. Will make for an interesting bedmate, though. Decisions, decisions. What to do, hmm?"

It didn't take long for the initially bewildered brunette to pick up on what he was trying to do, and by then she was turning bright red and opening her mouth as if to retort only for words to fail her. She was making little unintelligible sounds of indignation and he cocked his head slightly, a small smirk curling on his lips.

The woman was rather entertaining when she was like this, not that he was complaining. She also looked surprisingly fetching when she was all flushed up like that.

"You- you-" she sputtered with a cross between acute embarrassment and growing ire. "I cannot believe you just said that!"

He had the gall to shrug at her. "You expected me to be chauvinistic. Be grateful that I am obliging your request. You may thank me later."

Haru gawked briefly at his dismissive arrogance. She could not believe the nerve of this man! Really, if not for the fact that they were in polite company, she would have opened her mouth there and then and let him know exactly what she thought of his boorish behavior. As the situation was, Haru could only swallow her indignant retorts and bid herself to hold onto the fraying threads of her patience. This man sitting beside her seemed to possess an unholy ability to rile her up like no one else could, and she had been trying her very best not to let it show. Judging by the amused air that seemed to surround the insufferably smug male though, Haru had a sneaking suspicion that she wasn't doing as well in the abovementioned endeavor as she thought, much to her chagrin.

The brunette narrowed her eyes and barely refrained from reacting to his arrogance. She ignored him and diverted her attention back to the auctioneer droning on the stage but of course he had no intention of letting her do any such thing. Without warning, he reached out suddenly and tugged at a lock of her hair, instantly regaining her full attention (and displeasure) once more.

"Belphegor-san!" she hissed softly, trying to draw away from him with limited success due to the fact that he had possession of some of her hair and she was really unwilling to blow up the matter. "What on earth are you-"

His smirk widened and he used his thumb to idly caress the perfectly straight, glossy brown strands. They felt every bit as silky and as luxurious as they looked, and his attention was momentarily occupied with the healthy sheen of her hair.

Haru was nowhere near as thrilled with the situation as the blonde assassin currently playing with her hair. The brunette stiffened and then snapped her gaze to him. It was at the tip of her tongue to tell him exactly what she thought of his outlandish behavior, but she quickly paused at the fascinated, _almost_ complimentary expression on his face.

Surprised, Haru's agitation fizzled out and she appeared momentarily confused by the turn of events. It wasn't long before instincts kicked in; the woman's intuition that usually laid dormant within her abruptly flared to life (as it very well should), granting her an enhanced sense of _awareness_ that she was not allowed to ignore. With a slow, owlish blink, she suddenly seemed to realize that there was an attractive, powerful man who happened to be situated extremely close to her, and he was looking at her in a distinctly interested manner.

For a brief moment, a panicked, bewildered expression crossed her features, and then after that, she just turned red. His earlier remarks rushed back to the forefront of her mind; the sly comments on her appearance, the arrogantly brazen sexual insinuations, and then now, the obvious _interest_ in his languid, feline gaze.

_Oh_.

He had been complimenting her, albeit in his own awfully rude and inappropriate manner. The brunette did not know if the man was just being deliberately offensive or if he was just completely ignorant of societal norms, and really, she ought to be feeling very indignant and outraged over his absurd behavior but all she could do was stare stupidly at him and blush like some moonstruck country bumpkin. Haru was dismayed with her own innate reaction but her displeasure only served to heighten the color that was already on her face, further deepening the soft shade of dusky pink that was already spreading across the bridge of her nose and cheekbones.

Her flustered appearance was very appealing, and he was also encouraged by her subsequent reaction to him, which had been wholly innate and without artifice. The smirk on his lips widened as he finally let go of the lock of her hair.

"So," he drawled in a tone rich with cocky satisfaction, leaving no doubt whatsoever that he was fully aware of his companion's fluster and nowhere near gentlemanly enough to pretend not to notice her rather ego-flattering reaction. "Shall we ditch this boring shindig for more pleasant entertainment?"

He was leering at her in an unmistakably suggestive manner that left no question about his definition of 'pleasant entertainment.' Mortified, Haru turned a brighter shade of crimson and spluttered like a dying motor, instinctively inching away from this disturbingly dangerous male currently focused on her. The full weight of his attention, while unexpectedly thrilling, was also downright disturbing for the same reason. Haru was rather startled—and disturbed—by her own unexplainable reaction; her heart rate quickening , her eyes widening, the pink on her face rapidly creeping past her neck and down to her chest, spreading a glowing, contagious heat everywhere it touched that was impossible to ignore.

Haru was very, _very_ alarmed. She was not supposed to react like this at all! And to- to _him_, of all people!

"No," she managed to squeak out a reply to the grinning blonde assassin, still mentally reeling from the shock of it all, backpedaling frantically away as she did so. "Let's just sit here!"

Unfortunately for her, he seemed to have suddenly developed selective deafness when it came to her. Before she could lurch away from him far enough to fall out of her seat, the Storm Varia oh so casually draped an arm around her shoulder and hauled her close, smiling his devious smirk the entire while as he did so. Haru's soft yelp of protest was promptly muffled against the lapels of his expensively cut suit jacket, and when she put her hands against his chest to try to push herself off of him, his arm conveniently slipped down to her middle to anchor her even more firmly to his side. She went very stiff then, as the heat of his hand seemed to sear through the thin fabric of her dress to brand the hypersensitive flesh of her waist, and the color that suffused her cheeks deepened further, until she was certain that she would be glowing bright red if the lighting was dim enough.

Haru was not sure if the swell of emotion currently lodged in her was more from anger or embarrassment. It was likely an equal mixture of both and it also didn't help matters that the fellow auction attendees around them were beginning to stare disapprovingly at the quiet commotion the two were kicking up, looking discreetly scandalized in the process.

After all, to the eye of the casual observer, the pretty brunette and her aristocratic companion looked very much like a pair of affectionate, amorous lovers who could not keep their hands off of each other.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

In fact, it was all Haru could do not to reach up to throttle the idiot man. Much to her naked relief, the earlier fluttery, breathless sensations she felt due to his closeness had completely evaporated into thin air (a fluke, it was definitely a fluke!), gone as quickly as they had fleetingly made their presence known, thanks to his increasingly ridiculous and unamusing antics. In fact, annoyance and growing irritation were quickly taking their place, and Haru was more than willing to return to familiar territory, thankful to be brought sharply back to reality where she and her pain-in-the-backside temporary bodyguard were only supposed to tolerate each other, nothing else.

Of course, he just had to choose that moment to glide his knuckles very faintly along her spine. Her body automatically reacted to the light stimuli; she ended up arching into him before she could think better of it and he chuckled at her, taking the opportunity to drag her even closer, until she was all but pressed to his side from chest to thigh.

Haru did not find the situation remotely funny at all, and worst of all, she quickly realized that extended proximity to him was not good for her senses whatsoever, as her heartbeat started to pick up speed once more and her face felt so warm that she was absolutely sure she could pass off as an overly ripe tomato by now.

Haru was growing more agitated by the second, and growling angrily under her breath, she quickly moved her hands from their earlier position on his chest to grab hold of his (the one that was currently lying on her waist with indecent possessiveness) and dug her nails hard into the skin of his palm.

It was a struggle to pull away from him enough to give him a fierce glare, what with his firm grip on her, but Haru persevered and gave as good as she got. Much to her increasing outrage, the god awful blonde didn't even react to her ferocious glower, nor did he seem to register the fact that she was doing her best to draw blood from him—in a rather discreet manner, of course.

"_Belphegor-san_," she hissed sharply, her brown eyes flashing with anger as she scowled at him, so caught up in her disgruntlement that she failed to notice how close their faces were to each other. "I don't know what you think you are doing, but this is going to stop now, do you hear me? How dare you manhandle me like this? Let go of me now or I swear to God-"

She was furiously lecturing him—in a lowered, whispered tone so as not to disturb the others around them any more than they already had, though that did not make her sound any less like an angry fishwife whatsoever, albeit a rather pretty, well-dressed one. Luckily for her general sense of wellbeing, he was more bemused and fascinated by her angry reaction than anything else, and was therefore indulgent enough to tolerate her indignant ramblings, opting to tune her out completely instead of violently silencing her in the bloody manner that he was wont to do to noisy opponents who would not shut up.

No, she was not an opponent, not a threat, and most definitely not meant to be toyed with like prey. She was something else altogether, even though she was civilian and her combat abilities were next to nonexistent. What she lacked in firepower she made up for in terms of character and intelligence; the woman had quickly proven within days of their meeting that she possessed a very sharp mind and that she was also not afraid of nor intimidated by him.

He had been irritated by her stubborn refusal to conform to his expected impression of her (fearful, weak, useless) at first, but even that wore off quickly as he realized the advantages of having to put up with a pretty female with a saucy personality, a sharp, witty tongue and just enough charm to pull it all off without inducing homicidal urges in him.

The Prince of Varia was interested, and becoming more so by the minute. Not to mention, his bloodlust was unusually passive and subdued in all of his interactions with her; as if his constant itch to cause mayhem and destruction, the ruthless predilection to do harm unto others just for the sheer hell of it was tamped down and replaced by a different sort of urge. He found his gaze straying to that pert, rosy little mouth of hers whenever they got into a verbal altercation with each other and quickly felt a different sort of lust stir to life within him. He cared not to examine this odd turns of events too closely, but his sadistic enthusiasm when it came to spilling the blood of enemies and opponents alike quickly turned into heady sexual arousal when this pretty little commoner was around, and never one to deny himself whenever he decided that he wanted something, Belphegor was wasting no time making his intentions known to the lucky female in question.

Said lucky female was nowhere near as thrilled as he had expected to find herself on the receiving end of his attention, however. In between showing her disapproval of his actions by lecturing him, she was also quite preoccupied trying to wiggle free from his hold, not so inconspicuously trying to get away from him.

She would have had better luck trying to move the Great Wall of China.

The Storm Varia tightened his hold on her and smiled wider when she mulishly tried to resist him.

"My cute little kitty," he drawled lazily in a seemingly languid tone that seemed to carry over to just about every ear in the vicinity. "I know that you cannot wait to have me all to yourself, but you will have my full attention once this auction is over. Be patient; you may sink your little claws in me all you want later."

His insinuations were quite clear and unmistakable, and Haru was so shocked by the blatant untruths that he was spouting that she stopped to gawk at him in disbelief. Smirking, the good looking, golden-haired male still had the gall to reach over to tickle her chin with his free hand, as if she was really an amusing pet of his. Haru broke out of her appalled trance and was immediately tempted to bite that offending appendage, but she managed to restrain herself when she realized that she would really be behaving like an annoyed feline if she did that.

With her hands tied behind her back (literally and figuratively), the brunette could only fume silently to herself and give her horribly incorrigible partner the evil eye; her current awkward position as well as the formal, subdued environment that they were currently in effectively limited her options when it came to dealing with this ridiculously irresponsible, childish Prince. The urge to yell at him for this entirely needless farce was overwhelming but Haru controlled herself—her face burned with embarrassment as she sensed the disapproval and unspoken annoyance from the others attending the auction—protecting the integrity of the mission was on the forefront of her mind, and so she had no choice but to just grin and bear it for the moment—

At least, that was what she was determined to do until she felt his hand move from her waist to the curve of her rump, and then, as if to add insult to injury, he _squeezed._

A sharply indrawn breath escaped her and she immediately went as stiff as a board. What happened next proceeded so quickly that even Belphegor had not suspected she was actually capable of such speed and deftness.

A sharp, resounding crack rang out in the air and it took the surprised blonde a fraction of a second to relate the sound to the aching of his jaw. _She had slapped him_. He didn't have long to marvel over the astounding event, though, for his toes were suddenly experiencing some severe discomfort due to the fact that the angry little witch beside him was very vindictively grinding the heel of her stiletto onto the tip of his hand stitched Italian leather shoe. The resulting pain, while not the worst that he had received in the illustrious span of his assassin career, was still distracting enough for him to loosen his hold on her enough for her to slip away, and she promptly did so with nimble agility, rising to her feet quickly with graceful dignity although the fire in her eyes spoke of a different story.

She gave him a sharp stare that spoke eloquently of her displeasure before turning to the people around them to offer a sincere apology for the disruption. Then, with perfect composure—spine ramrod straight, shoulders thrown back, head held high—she politely navigated her way out of the row of seated attendees and calmly sailed out of the large ballroom.

The fallen Prince was aware that he should be feeling very pissed off right now; one side of his face felt noticeable warmer than the other side and he had no doubt that there was now a small but visible, bright red handprint to go with it. Moreover, his toes felt like they might have been fractured by the unexpected elephant strength she possessed and the people around him were also shooting him reproachful, dirty looks.

Yes, he should be feeling fit to kill right now; she had the gall to assault him even after being fully aware of his unrestrained propensity for violence and bloodshed, and she had done it unhesitatingly and without any fear whatsoever, the very moment he overstepped his bounds with her.

He was _extremely_ turned on.

Her defiance and boldness aroused him more than he had ever imagined was possible, and the thought of retaliating against her with violence didn't even cross his mind.

The thought of bedding her, however, did. Several times, in fact, and in vivid, explicit detail.

Belphegor was very pleased with his selection. The blonde allowed his smirk to widen slowly, dismissively disregarding the disapproving/disturbed stares the surrounding guests were giving him. He had a new, interesting focus now, after all, and he was very eager to give his full attention to her, whether she liked it or not.

Yes; this assignment was finally turning out to be _quite_ interesting.

* * *

Haru was visibly fuming as she stalked down the hallway of the private mansion back to her room. She could not believe the sheer daring of that man! He obviously had another thing coming if he thought she was just going to sit there obediently and allow him to grope her every which way he pleased! Haru's face turned even redder with a conflicting mix of anger, embarrassment, and something else that she'd rather not examine too closely at the moment. The entire situation just did not make sense to the confused brunette; the (extremely rude) Storm Varia Commander had made it very clear in the beginning of their assignment that he was only barely tolerating her presence and now, a mere week later, he had turned around completely and was singing a different tune altogether, if his outrageous insinuations and behavior were to be of any indication.

Not for the first time, Haru wondered if the male was bipolar or just plain crazy. She huffed unhappily to herself; no matter what, it was still no excuse for what he had done-! The outraged brunette could still feel the imprint of his hand on her behind, brief as the contact had been before she decisively took action to correct it, and her face colored fiercely at the embarrassing recollection. She had not felt this agitated for a long time, but her blonde partner was proving to be extremely adept at provoking her temper, and she just knew that this must be another of his elaborate attempts to protest against her supposed 'interference' in his mission.

How ridiculous of him to feel that way, Haru thought with annoyance as she turned sharply down a side passageway that led to her assigned suite. It wasn't as if she had been begging to work with him—she had been just as dismayed as he to be stuck together in this assignment, though she had certainly been much more mature about it. The brunette scowled slightly; this was the very last time that she would willingly work with this appalling individual—

Coming to a stop at her door, Haru was about to dig into her purse for the key when a familiar, irritating drawl sounded from behind her.

"Retreating, already? And here I thought we were finally having fun getting to know each other."

It was all the startled brunette could do not to jump in reaction to the unexpected presence of the Storm Varia; she quickly whirled around to see him casually lounging against the opposite wall of her room, looking for all the world as if he had been there the entire while. Haru placed her hand over her chest to calm herself; she had not heard him following her at all and the surprise made her heart race.

"Will you quit creeping up on me like this?!" she berated him angrily the moment she got her bearings back, her brows snapping together in a fierce, unhappy frown. Much to her consternation, he was (as usual) hardly affected by her displeasure whatsoever.

"I did not 'creep up on you,' as you so nicely put it. It's no fault of mine that you have no awareness of your surroundings."

To that, Haru had nothing to say. It was true that she was easily sidetracked and often paid little attention to what was going on around her when she had something on her mind, but it still chaffed to have him of all people point that out to her. Haru bristled defensively, her mouth opening to refute his statement (even though he was right) when she abruptly noticed the bright red handprint that sat on the side of his face like a very conspicuous flag. She blinked and paused at the sight; even though he had deserved every ounce of strength she had put into the slap, a part of her immediately felt guilty.

Haru closed her mouth, and without another word, turned back to her door and started to rummage for the key in her clutch purse. It didn't take her long to locate the item, though before she could use it to unlock the door, he intervened once more, this time grabbing her by the wrist and turning her around to face him with little effort.

"Aren't you rude," he commented in a suspiciously mild tone. "I'm not done with you yet, you know."

Haru frowned at him. "Oh, go and bug someone else already," she muttered. She made no attempt to protest his hold on her, just staring at him with her doe-like eyes and giving him a somewhat disgruntled look. Amused, he took advantage of her momentary lack of resistance to step closer to her, and although she gazed at him with slight wariness, he was very pleased to find no hint of fear whatsoever reflected in her expressive features.

"No," he purred silkily, his grip on her relaxing as his long fingers started to lightly caress the silky undersides of her wrist. "I think I will have more _fun_ playing with you."

Haru's eyes widened and she instinctively took a quick step back only to plaster herself against the door. Fat lot of good that did her, since he promptly followed after her and before she knew it, he had her deftly trapped between himself and the door. Belphegor's smirk widened at the cutely frustrated expression that flitted across the woman's face then, and he let go of her arm completely in favor of hooking his index finger under her chin and tilting her face to his even as he lowered his own towards hers, and by then, her eyes had grown so large that they almost took up half of her face.

"Belphegor-san?" she whispered then, in a tone full of bewilderment and uncertainty. She had also gone completely still, as if paralyzed by his unmistakable intention. The near tangible tension that had always existed between them returned with a fierce vengeance, and she was suddenly meek and docile. "Wh-what are you doing?"

By now, he was so close to her that their noses were almost touching. "Don't ask the obvious," he replied lowly before swiftly closing the remaining gap between them and decisively sealing her mouth with his own.

The kiss was unlike anything Haru had experienced before. It was neither overly gentle nor was it politely awkward like most first kisses were. It was dominating, unhesitating, and so very _hungry_ that the dazed brunette felt as though she was going to be completely eaten up in the process. Belphegor was relentless in his objective to have her, deliberately using his body to herd her further against the door until she had nowhere else to retreat to. Haru was briefly disconcerted by the realization that this lean, lanky male was actually a lot larger up close than she had thought, and then they were suddenly plastered together from chest to thigh, and he was so unexpectedly _voracious_ that she was completely overwhelmed by it all. His heat and crisp, masculine scent surrounded her like a heavy cloak, her loud, pounding heartbeat drowned out just about every ambient sound around them, his bright, tousled golden hair filled her vision and he touched her with such unadulterated _desire_ that Haru was utterly stunned.

She would never have thought that he was capable of such passion—she had never seen him in battle before but outside of it, he had always seemed so lackadaisical and carelessly apathetic, and therefore she was completely blindsided by this side of him. He was demanding and blatantly unapologetic in his actions and the fact that he wanted her—plain old Haru—with such fierce lust made a part of her respond to him innately in a way that was purely biological.

She had gone completely stiff the very moment he kissed her, unsure of how to react, frozen in shock over his unexpected move, panic threatening to take over, but the effect he had on her was undeniable. His mouth devoured hers with pure hunger, sucking, licking, nipping, and his hands lingered over her waist and hips with intimate possessiveness, determinedly coaxing a reaction out of her, and helpless to resist his raw enthusiasm, she responded.

Her hands still refused to let go of their death grip on her purse but her eyes slowly slipped close. Her lips parted slightly, hesitantly, and he wasted no time taking advantage of her cautious compliance. She was promptly pushed flat against the door as he attacked her mouth even more vigorously than ever, and she let out a muffled squeaked when he pressed his tongue into her to rub and twine against its counterpart, a growl of growing lust reverberating from his throat. Blood rushed through Haru's head and her knees went weak at the sensation of his searing kiss, and one of her hands reached up to his sleeve in an attempt to hold onto him for dear life. He made her open her mouth wider, and she started to kiss him back, moving against him in concert, her fingers tightening on his jacket as if to hold him close. A deep, masculine purr of satisfaction escaped from his chest, and he started to part her legs with his even as he tilted her face up to his and continued to ravage her mouth in earnest.

She was soft and womanly against him, her body instinctively pliant and unexpectedly welcoming, and she smelled really, really good. He was captivated and the urge to be as close to her as physically possible, to feel her bare skin against his own, to tumble her onto the nearest bed and fuck her hard like he had been thinking about more and more recently increased. He was already aroused and the mental picture of her legs wrapped tightly around his hips as he drove into her repeatedly quickly made his erection grow even harder in anticipation.

He hitched his leg higher up between hers, forcing her skirt to ride up her legs and deliberately brushing against the sensitive insides of her upper thighs. She inhaled sharply at the sensation, quivering in his grasp, a husky, little moan escaping her reddened, kiss-swollen lips, her dewy eyes glazed with passion—and that was it.

He had to have her, and he had to have her _now_.

Keeping her pinned to the door of her suite, his hands snaked downwards even as he continued to lavish attention on her mouth, callused tips on long fingers grazing her bare knee, and then moving higher and higher up her slender limb in a leisurely route that would ultimately lead to the treasure that he sought. Despite his heady distractions, she seemed to sense his less than pure intentions and started to stir with nervousness, slowly stiffening with alarm and instinctively shifting away, trying to evade his overly bold, questing hand only for him to lean in even closer to quell her movements. She whined protestingly with growing unease and discontent but he forged on insistently, blatantly enjoying the way their bodies fit together snugly as well as the feel of her under his hands. He released her mouth to nip at her jawbone, ducking his golden head to kiss and explore the side of her neck, slipping his hand under her dress in her moment of preoccupation and making her gasp and start when she felt him touch her through her panties.

The touch, brief as it was, felt like a cold splash of icy water to her fevered senses. Haru was immediately brought back to focus, and she was shocked by the position she found herself in. What on earth was going on? Somehow, there was now a lean, extremely virile male (of whom she shared no romantic relations whatsoever with) draped possessively over her and he was doing a very good job fondling her in places he had no business touching (or kissing). The brunette was having trouble processing her thoughts; she felt as though she was experiencing mass sensory overload and the cause for her bewilderment and confusion was still relentlessly bombarding her with all sorts of decadent sensations. Her head buzzed dully and it took great effort to clear her mind, though the fact that he was now unabashedly, _greedily_, exploring her body quickly helped to clear the fog faster.

Haru had to bite back a startled moan of pleasure when he rubbed his fingers against her moistening, sensitive womanhood through the thin fabric of her panties. It took great effort for her to remind herself why it was not advisable for her to enjoy this sinfully delicious feeling, that if she did not stop this now, she was really going to end up well and truly screwed, _literally_, by the time this was over. For a while, her lust clouded brain did not seem to find anything wrong with that prediction, but Haru came to her senses once again and started to turn bright red at the completely unseemly situation that she was in right now. Was she really considering giving it up to this rascally, awful, immature man? Was she really that desperate for affection, that she would do it with just about anyone who so much as showed the barest interest in her? And in an open hallway where just about anyone could walk by and watch what they were doing?

Granted, judging by the way the Storm Varia was all but enthusiastically attaching himself to her, he was definitely showing more than just 'bare interest' in her, but Haru was not interested in that right now. The brunette was filled with mortification and distress, and she started to struggle earnestly against him, pushing at his chest with small fists and trying her hardest to wiggle out of his hold. She also pulled away from his skillfully addictive mouth and was quickly straining away like a drenched cat fighting to get away from its owner. "Let…me go!" she demanded in a fierce whisper, her voice sounding huskier than usual from the passionate bout with the assassin Prince. "And stop touching me!"

Unfortunately for her, he did not seem inclined to heed her commands, absorbing her fruitless struggles with his larger frame and simply binding her flailing arms to her sides with just one of his while the other one continued to molest her most eagerly. He caught her mouth with his once more and quickly attempted to entangle her in his web of lust and desire, and Haru would have likely succumbed to it once more, helpless to resist, had she not felt his fingers slip under her underwear to directly massage her slickly aroused, needy flesh. Her eyes popped wide open even as her hips arched into his hand instinctively and this time Haru knew that she really had to put an end to this or she was going to lose her virginity right in this very hallway.

Without warning, the distressed brunette reacted in the only way in which she was taught to deal with such a situation; she jerked her knee up hard and fast and promptly felt her kneecap collide with something. Despite her speed, he had sensed the movement and had jerked away at the last moment, but she must have been at least partially successful in her endeavor, for the effect was instantaneous. He released her immediately and swore like a sailor. He wasn't exactly crumpled to the floor in a ball of pain and misery, but he was also no longer trying to touch her in grossly inappropriate places, and Haru quickly took the opportunity to scramble away from him, only stopping a small distance away to scowl fiercely at him even as she frantically righted her dress and tugged down the hem that had ridden up to her waist in an indecent fashion.

"I already told you to stop!" she snapped at him, looking a bit ruffled and worse for wear after their passionate encounter, her face flushed and her lips rosy, her chocolate brown hair tousled from his fingers earlier. She pointed at him angrily. "What was that for?!"

He glowered at her. The 'knee to the groin' move was something that he had not expected her to pull off, he was a master at reading others and everything about her body language had told him that she was not adverse to being with him—she had been so amazingly responsive to him, even more so than he had ever imagined, that it simply could not be anything else.

He really ought to be enraged by her clumsy attempt to unman him. Granted, she hadn't exactly done much damage with her glancing blow, but he was more often than not brutally unforgiving towards those who tried to attack him, usually returning their favor with twofold the violence and viciousness. This time around, however, he was only irritated because she had interrupted what would definitely have been a rather enjoyable interlude for the two of them.

"I should be the one asking that question," he growled back at her. "That was a cheap shot, woman."

Haru scowled harder, unimpressed by his threatening manner. "That's not what I meant, and you deserved that! Why did you kiss me?! A-and then you even touched me as well!"

She was getting flustered just speaking about it, and he eyed her strangely attractive reaction. That doe-like, vulnerable expression on her face was extremely arousing to him, and the urge to see her looking like that whilst pinned under him returned with a vengeance. He licked his lips and smiled a slow, wolfish smile, and his change of demeanor was enough to quell her outraged reaction as a wary/hunted look took over, and she took a step back, instinctively leery of his predatory stance. He was undeterred, soundlessly stalking towards her. Her apprehension increasing, Haru scuttled backwards until her back hit the wall, and she eep-ed with surprise. She didn't have the time to look for an alternative route for he was suddenly right before her and caging her in between his arms, blocking all avenues of escape. Haru stiffened; he had done it again!

The alarmed brunette flattened herself against the wall but he pressed close, so close until his long fringe brushed against her cheeks, though this time, he made no move to touch her. Yet. She lifted her chin and tried to look mulishly rebellious, but her wide, worried eyes quickly gave her away. He found her very attractive like that, and now that he was looking at her as something more than a nuisance—a potential bedmate, a lover—it was as if he was now seeing her in a completely new light.

"Why did I kiss you, you ask?" he purred lowly, ducking his head lower so that his lips brushed against the sensitive shell of her ear. She quivered in reaction. "Why did I _touch_ you, hmm?" His tongue flicked out to taste the tip of her ear lobe. She bit her lip and turned her head away so as to not look at him, in the process revealing the long, slender column of her neck, much to his delight. He brought his mouth to the prominent arch of her clavicle bone and lightly bit down. She gasped softly, her breathing quickening as he trailed his lips up the length of her throat, nipping sensually at her jawbone and at last, pausing and drawing back slightly to look at her flushed features. His veiled gaze pinned hers with utter bluntness, blatantly showing his desire for her.

"If you think hard enough, I'm sure you will have your answer."

Haru blushed hotly, and then she stared at the Varia Storm Commander with uncertainty in her eyes. She also seemed quite bewildered. "But we don't even get along…"

He scoffed. "We fit well together," he countered. "That's good enough."

Haru was uncomfortable with his frankness. "But-"

"I want you," he cut her off before she could say anything else. There were no ifs, ands, or buts in his short but forceful statement. Then, he smirked and continued. "Preferably stark naked and in bed, but I'm willing to take you anywhere I can." His innuendos and perverted sense of humor were hardly appreciated, but Haru was too blown away by his unflinching declaration to get too worked up over that for now. No one had ever confessed to wanting her like this before. He was completely unabashed and focused, unembarrassed and bold in his intention, and the brunette was affected by his forceful demeanor.

She was momentarily speechless, and he looked at her archly. "And don't bother denying it; I know you want me as well."

He was being quite presumptuous in her opinion, but much to her chagrin, he was right. Haru had never felt like this with any other man in her life before; she was extremely aware of this golden haired male whenever he was around her, and as maddening as he was most of the time, there was no denying the fierce flare of attraction between them, largely ignored at the beginning, but no longer possible to disregard now that his actions had forced them both to come to terms with it.

She looked at him wide-eyed, swallowing hard and nervously licking her lips. His attention immediately fell onto her mouth, and she pinkened.

"You really want me?" she asked at last in a quiet voice. His smirk widened to a wicked grin that quickly made her heart race.

"Would you like a physical demonstration?" he purred suggestively.

Haru swallowed once again. "Okay," she whispered, and then, after hesitating uncertainly for a while, she closed her eyes, leaned in and kissed him.

Once again, she surprised him with her spontaneity, not that he was complaining very much this time. She was enthusiastic in her passion, curious and more than willing to explore him once she got over her initial reticence, pressing into him readily and rubbing her slender form against his in an unconsciously needy manner that quickly made a certain part of him stir with immediate interest. She was also a generously affectionate little thing once he coaxed her out of that prim and proper shell of hers; her hand shyly reaching up to his face to caress his cheek, her fingers brushing against his hair and lightly massaging his scalp, all the while returning his kisses with all the fervor she could muster.

He groaned with lust and approval when she nipped as his mouth for being too grabby with his hands, then she licked sweetly at his lip and drew the flesh into her mouth to suck gently at it. Arousal surged through his veins like an extremely heady drug; the way his body had immediately reacted to what he had always considered a relatively tame exchange—a mere kiss—quickly ensured that he would never underestimate the power of such a gesture again, especially when it was with this woman.

His arms came up to lock themselves around her waist, and she automatically arched against him like a lithe little feline, a soft keen rising from her throat even as she fought to control her own raging desires. Her eyelashes fluttered as she reluctantly opened her eyes, and before he could fully get into the kiss, she placed her hands on his shoulders and pushed him away.

"You will take me on a date after this mission is concluded," she informed him breathlessly. It wasn't a question, but a surprisingly firm demand, and she continued when he just looked at her, taking his silence for consent. "A proper one, with flowers, a nice dinner, and a stroll in the park. Until then, there will be no more physical contact whatsoever."

She nimbly slipped out from his hold, stepping towards her door and quickly digging out her room key. She would have appeared as though she had complete control if not for the fact that she was still flushed with passion and her hands were shaking finely, quickly, revealing how affected she was by him. He cocked his head slightly and observed her.

"No physical contact?" he echoed silkily, inwardly amused as she fumbled briefly with the key before finally managing to slide it into the keyhole. The flustered brunette unlocked the door with a quick twist of her wrist and quickly depressed the handle to open it. "Why should I agree to that?"

She turned her head to look at him. "I refuse to be distracted during a mission." She bit her lip whilst briefly in thought before absently soothing the abused flesh with a swipe of her tongue. She met his gaze steadily. "You will have my full attention once this is over, and it will make me happy if you respect my request."

When it came to all the propositions that he had heard offered to him so far, hers was by far the tamest. It was also the most innocent, but she, with her honest doe-eyes and girlish demeanor, was clearly charming enough to pull it off. He was not about to let her have her way that easily, though.

"And what will I get out of such an arrangement?" he asked.

Embarrassment briefly overtook her delicate features before she saw fit to answer him. "Will my affection…do?" she mumbled shyly, awkward as a newborn fawn, obviously out of her element in this instance. Her woeful lack of experience in flirtatious comebacks just made her flustered demeanor all the more fascinating to him. She had been so spirited and bold earlier and the contrasting change was certainly interesting, to say the least. It was almost _cute_.

"That will depend on how affectionate you are willing to be," he told her in a low, amused drawl, and she delighted him by turning an even darker shade of red. Haru pushed opened the door and stepped nimbly into the suite. She seemed to regain a bit of her backbone as she entered 'safe' territory, turning to him to reply.

"If you promise to be really good, perhaps I can think of something that we can both do for fun."

She was blushing slightly as she tentatively offered her answer, and then her gaze met his. Her rich, brown eyes softened slightly as she looked at him, and she gave him a small, little smile. "Goodnight, Belphegor."

The door quietly clicked close behind her.

Belphegor's smirk widened to a grin, and then, a small chuckle escaped him, a sound of genuine mirth and pleasure. The blonde turned and proceeded to make his way back to his room, a faint smile remaining on his face.

His interest and appetite for her were definitely stoked. If today was but a mere teaser, then the Storm Varia decided that he would very much look forward to further interaction with the sassy little vixen.

Correction: _his_ sassy little vixen.

Belphegor smiled slowly, cat-like.

So, she wanted him to be good?

Amused, he wondered if she was aware of how many ways he could interpret her ambiguous condition.

But one thing was for sure.

Whatever it was, he intended to be so amazingly good that she'd fall right into his arms after this little game of theirs was concluded.

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_::owari::_

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**Questions That I Would Like To Answer Before You Ask:**

Poor Haru. She is always being bullied by Belphegor in my fics, haha. Well, at least that is so in the beginning; things won't be so bad for her once she learns how to wrap him around her finger!

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To be honest, this fic didn't turn out the way I originally planned to, but I suppose I can't complain. I was toying with the idea of Belphegor and Haru being stuck on a mission together, but somehow the plot became like this. It seems that my inner Belphegor is a raging pervert whenever Haru is in the picture…so yeah.

Anyway, this will remain a one-shot for now, and I hope all of you enjoyed reading it!

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Your reviews make me update faster; so please leave a comment if you like this fic!

-sllebswap


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